Moves are being made at tonight’s Tower Hamlets council meeting to stop the sale of three boozers in London’s East End.

The Labour Opposition is calling on independent Mayor Lutfur Rahman not to go ahead with plans to sell the leases as part of a drive to offload council assets.

Labour’s Culture spokesman Denise Jones said: “This asset stripping approach is short-term profiteering, when the mayor should be looking out for the long-term interests and helping small businesses like pubs to weather the economic storm.”

The pubs affected are the Blue Anchor in Bow, Old Ship in Shadwell and Queen’s Head in Limehouse.

Labour will argue that the council should be supporting local pubs, many of which are community hubs—not selling off their leases. The Mayor is to decide at tonight’s Cabinet at 5.30pm on whether to go ahead with the sale.